I was lucky enough to find a bottle of this on ebay.com It was bottled in August of 2002 so it had already aged for a little over a year. This was extreamly tasty! Unfortunately, I made the mistake of having a Double Bastard right before I had this beer so I think my palate was somewhat shocked and numb.

This beer poured pitch black with a nice tan head that melted quickly into the liquid. Some small traces of lacing but a little too slippery....damn.

The aroma was intense. Huge chocolate hits the nose. Some smoke as well and a little bit of alcohol. Maybe some dark fruits in there as well. Nice...

This was one HUGE porter. The hops definately died down from the aging. This was the first tasting but it just seemed like the hops were not well pronounced but well hidden and balanced. Nice. Huge coffee flavor with some suddle chocolate and dark fruits. Alcohol was well hidden but still apparent. Very smooth and drinkable with a fantastic mouthfeel.

This bottle was split b/w me, tikigodxxx, trbeer, and crjmellor the morning after the West Mich BA Gathering.

Aged 2 1/2 years. Pours black with purple hues around the sides and crimson on the bottom. My glass was lacking much of a head but some of the other glasses had a medium tan head. What head there was on mine faded quickly and there was no lacing.

I simply could not get enough of this aroma. Very bold, very complex, very,very good! Intense notes of alcohol mix with dark fruits leaving a portlike impression. Roasted coffee is there as well. Creamer, smoke, and maybe even wood.

The flavor almost matched up to the amazing aroma. Once again I'm getting a dark fruit sweetness akin to port or some kind of dessert wine. But the complexity, man oh man, roasted bittersweet chocolate and espresso evolve. Hops are almost non apparent, i think the aging might have something to do with that. Smoked barley seems to be the base of this beer and it really comes out in the finish. Alcohol is prevalent and very nice. Just intensity like I wouldn't believe a 2.5 year old porter could be.

Creamy mouthfeel and the sweetness coats my mouth. Robust as well. Smoke and alcohol kick add complexity. If anything is wrong with this beer though I was hoping for maybe a bit more liveliness in the body.

I tried to drink this slowly, but it was too good! I need more. Much thanks to Craig for providing this great beer.

It's a very dark brown, clear with a finger of creamy tan head. It has great retention and leaves big swathes of tight sticky head. The aroma is rich malts, with some chocolate and coffee and a hint of earth. The taste is similar with just and hint of roasted malts. The body is rich and smooth, with a silky finish.

Black but not opaque. Nice tan head laces nicely. This one isn't as smokey as their smoked porter (a good thing) but it is still noticeably smoky. Dark malts (predominately chocolate) are dominated by the citrus peel hops a bit. Not too overbalanced though.

I found the 6th Anniversary Porter at a small liquor store. Thinking, "Wow, I bet there aren't many of those left around here", I quickly snatched it up. Boy, was that a good idea!

It poured out of the 22oz bomber looking almost jet black except for the ruby-tinged edge that allowed in the faintest amount of light. A small yet persistent mottled tan head perched on top.

The smell was a nose-grabbing blend of strong espresso-like coffee, hints of dark chocolate, plums, prunes and other dark fruits, and a mild hops aroma. Also lurking in the background was a faint sweet alcohol smell.

Taste was magnificant. A huge shot of roasted coffee flavor which reminded me of some of the best coffee I've ever had (a Kenyan/Ethiopian blend), a sweet prunish taste asserted itself next, followed by the suggestion of bakers chocolate bitterness. A soothing warmth issued forth as the alcohol hit home.

Feel was full-bodied, with a velvety smoothness. The smallest sip fills your mouth.

A very satisfying beer. Only the alcohol content slows down the drinkability of this Stone creation. Even then, I just had a tough time pacing myself. A great follow-up to Stone's superb Smoked Porter. Get them if you can find them.

Deep brown color with a gorgeous, thick, creamy tan head. Dark chocolate and roasted malt combine with herbal hops to form a pleasant aroma. Some light oak in the background, not much smoke at all. Good balance with a slight bitter finish. Full bodied with a smooth texture.

A nice Porter that could benefit from more smoke and less hop bitterness. Fun to get to try this re-release of the original beer brewed back in 2002.

Appears a dark brown in the glass with a small tan head that left a couple of rings of lace around the glass. Roasted malts, some smokiness and a bit of chocolate covered dark fruits make up most of the aroma. Some alcohol is noticeable as well. The flavor also has a big roasty/smoky component over a nice dark chocolate. This is quite bitter and the hops are still alive in the flavor. Fruit notes are in the background. Very tasty. Good solid mouthfeel with a creamy fairly thick body. Easy drinking stuff for me as well. I would love to have a few bottles of this too bad I missed getting any when it came out. This held up fantastically over the last few years. Highly recommended. Thanks Ben.

Deep mahagony body pours with a moderate tan head that seems very dense and creamy. The head slowly fades to a more modest layer of foam that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. Sweet and fruity aromas are barely perceptible as the beer sits on the desk in front of me. Close up, a strong dark fruit and chocolate aroma similar to raspberry hot chocolate dominates the nose, but some smoky roasted notes and a bit of hops are present as well. The taste is phenomenal, with sweet malt, strong coffee, roasted malt, burnt marshmallows, and smoldering pine all assaulting my taste buds. Ghostlike alcohol esters hover above the action, filling the rest of my mouth with the prescence. But then the sultry body massages the tongue, and I seem to forget about the brash assault it just recieved. The only memory is a lingering smoked pine taste. Drinkability is very good. This is another masterful brew from Stone. Maybe I should go track down a case of the 7th Anniversary Ale, eh? This is truly a treat.

Served in the 22 oz. bomber. The color is dark brown, with a bubbly beige head. The smell is very chocolatey. The taste is a nice chocolate and anise, with a nice bitterness in the aftertaste, and the alcohol isn't noticable. Mouthfeel is nice and thick. Drinkability-wise, could have a few.

Thank you to HiroProtagonist for this trade...I never thought I was going to get my hands on a 6th Anniversary Porter. Fortunately, I was wrong! An enjoyable beer, and hopefully Greg will bring this one out again in the future.

Appearance: The 6th Anniversary Porter pours a near-black inky darkness with only a miniscule amount of ruby highlights at the edge of the glass. Thick, long-lasting tan-colored head boils up initally, settles quickly to a thin layer yet manages to coat the glass nearly 100% as the glass emptied.

Taste: If the smell was great, the taste in mind-blowing. A simply fantastic combination of dark, bitter chocolate, toffee, coffee, "smoky campfire", roasted malts....everything combines into a symphony of flavor that was a joy to behold. Finishes with a sweet sugary bitterness that lasts and lasts, reminding you of what just crossed your palate.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: Amazing how smooth a beer can be from a bottle. This one is like a big velvet Elvis painting shoved in your mouth. So very smooth and large in the body department. Quite low carbonation which adds to the creamy factor. The ABV is very subdued, making for a very easy-to-drink beer.

Gang...this is one kick-ass beer. A joy to experience. Huge thanks to the classy BA RoyalT for this gem. I am deeply indebted to him for all of the freat beers he has sent me so far.

Coming up on eight years old, I wasn't expecting this to be drinking so absolutely tastily, but it is, and feel compelled to write a review. Poured brown, dark, semi-translucent with a rich tan head that had a good amount of retention. Aroma is vinous, plum-like, with mild amounts of roast. Tastes of plums, smoke, deliciously roasted coffee, burnt malts, bready and some nice floral and cookie notes. This is tasting great. Body is medium, not as thick as maybe expected, but fits quite well for the fruity and roasty goodness this is. Hard to believe this wasn't bottled in the last year or so, drinking amazing, definitely worth searching out even today.

Pours a very dark brown with a maroon tint around the edges when held up to light. Has a thin, creamy, tan head with no carbonation.
Smells of chocolate and malt, and a slight spice.
A big spice bite on this porter. The chocolate malt comes up nice, and a slight black licorice as it fades. Very light on the coffee. A good porter that is unique...expect nothing less from Stone.

This is a beautiful beer. Pours almost black, with just a hint of ruby when backlit. But the head... the head is just perfect. About a finger-thick, light tan creamy head which lasts the whole way down. Really just exactly right.

The aroma is decent, smoky malts with a hint of fruit and a noticeable presence of alcohol. It's a bit over 8.0% ABV, and it shows. Essentially the only flavors that come through for me are a *very* smokey malt flavor, and a strong alcohol flavor. Together, these combine to leave a very heavy feeling in the throat. The two combined are altogether appropriate for the main body of the flavor, but balance could have been added by adding perhaps a bit more hop to the finish, or perhaps bringing out some fruity flavors in the middle. As it stands -- and God I hate to say this given Stone's *exemplary* journies in over-the-topness with its other beers -- this one is just a bit much for me.

Originally reviewed 31 August 2002.
Simply Beautiful. Explosions of coffee, chocolate & malt flavor. Smooth on the tongue, w/ a nice balance of malt & hops.
A special occassion beer for special occassions. Not meant for the novice, this is another big, beautiful beer from Stone

Lovely beer! Poured from a bomber into a snifter. Beautiful black-brown color with great head and lacing. The smell is rich chocolate and berry, carries over to the taste. Nutty and earthy, smooth feel. Very enjoyable!

I had this beer on tap at Stone Brewing Days at the Stuffed Sandwich, 8-31-04. The beer is served with a thick and creamy head. It was so thick and creamy that it looked like tan wipping cream on top of the beer. It was beautiful. The beer is a super dark brown. Very little light actually shows through ther beer to distinguish a color. It has a sweet and grape aroma. The flavor is full of caramel, grape, and roasted sugars. It is an excellent porter once aged 2 years.

It's just a shade off black with a thick tan head. The smell is roasted malt with a hint of chocolate and very noticeable traces of alcohol. The smoke flavor is barely detectable at first but becomes a bit more pronounced as it warms. Unfortunately, the alcohol flavor also becomes more noticeable and overwhelms the more subtle fruity and smoky flavors. 8% abv just seems a bit high for a beer like this. Stone's smoked porter is more balanced and enjoyable.

Pours black with just the barest hints of light around the edges witha thick brown head that slowly fades and leaves a nice lace. Very roasted on the nose with nice big chocolatey tones along with some light smokiness and light piney hops. Wow, this brew is absolutely loaded with flavor. Nice hoppy bitterness is mixed in lightly at the start before the roasted and smokey maltiness comes into the picture in a big way. The tangy hoppiness rears its head again before the brew finishes with a nice malty sweetness with strong chocolate flavors left lingering on my tongue. Smooth, creamy and absolutely excellent. I could drink this stuff from sunup to sundown and not get tired of it, although I would be rather drunk. An excellent brew, standard fare from Stone though. Highly recommended.

This one pours dark black with a thick head and good retention. Aroma is sweet with notes of chocolate and vanilla. Smoke is way in the back. Full bodied and slightly syrupy. More like an Imperial Stout in my opinion. Very smooth and alcohol is well disguised by the roasty sweet malt. This is one heavy Porter bordering on a Stout. Has a slight bitter and dry finish.

In my AKSmoked review, I said "Smoke, to Alaskan Brewing Co. is less a flavoring and more a fining; it denatures any off flavors and bring to the forefront everything complex in a porter (subtleties often lost to the night)." The same can be said of Stone's 6th Anniversary Porter, but the smoke is used here to bring the hops, instead of the malt, to the forefront. The malt character is wholly profound -- deep with espresso and cocoa with a touch of cream -- but the remarkable burnt hop notes that are balanced by the smoke make this beer a classic. The smoke is much more subtle than AK. To take the most aggressive elements of beer (hops, dark malt, and fucking SMOKE) and make a beer this well-integrated makes no sense. Light fusel alcohol on the nose. This is less a beer and more an achievement.

I will age my other sample and see how it matures; smoke does quite a job in aging beer. Think classic roasted porter; think imperial stout (mid-palate); think flash-barbeque and put it all in a glass: Stone 6th Anniversary Porter.

An absolutely superb beer that I was lucky enough to have on tap at the Taphouse in Bellevue. The first thing I noticed was that absolutely inviting appearance of the beer which was jet black with a nice thick dark brown head. Hoppy and roasted smells rose from the glass. Upon the first sip, I knew I was in for a treat. The beer is a very big porter... lots going on here with complexity out the wazzoo. Bitterness is very noticeable but not heavy enough to drown out the malts. Malt flavors range form caramel to chocolate and roasted coffee to a smoky feel. The brew just fill your mouth with flavors and I wanted to keep drinking more to discover all the other hidden flavors. This beer has so much going on it truly is amazing. Cheers out to Stone for another quality brew.

A new review of this beer, exactly one year after my original review. Let's see how it aged. An extremely dark beer, pretty much black, as can be expected from this style. Thick mocha brown head that stays well. An aroma of caramel malt sweetness permeates the air, along with heavy roasted undertones, and a good amount of citrus hoppiness. Hop character has mellowed with the aging. As for the flavors, the hop bitterness isn't nearly as up-front as it was last year, but is more subtle and complex. Most notably, it's leafy. Still a major player. Lots of roasted flavor with caramel sweetness here and there. Chocolate maltiness has a big presence as well. Also detectable is a subtle smoked character, most noticeable with retro-olfaction. Very smooth and creamy, much moreso than last year. A bit of rind-like hop bitterness is left on the tongue in the aftertaste. I must say that a year of aging has done wonders for this beer, and I can only imagine what further cellaring could do. Another magnificent offering from Stone, who never fail to impress.